Plenary Sessions

Plenary Session I: Creating NIH Technology Incubators

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

10:00 a.m. –12:00 p.m.

Masur Auditorium, Building 10

The NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP) has a world-class cohort of investigators who are moving the state-of-the-art to visualize molecules at the cellular level and to use clinical imagery to improve diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Examples include near-atomic-level imaging of protein-drug interactions, the imaging of sub-cellular movement in real-time in living organisms, and the use of imaging to improve diagnosis and treatment of cancer. This plenary session will focus on the ways the IRP has invested in and will develop the infrastructure to support paradigm-shifting technologies.

Plenary Session II: Responding to Public Health Emergencies

Thursday, September 17, 2015

10:15 a.m. –12:15 p.m.

Masur Auditorium, Building 10

This plenary session will focus on the many ways that the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP) has served a crucial role in various public health emergencies. From assessing radiation dangers after the Japanese tsunami and nuclear accident, to developing an Ebola vaccine and treating infected individuals, to tracing the origins of recent food-borne disease outbreaks through genomic analysis, the NIH IRP continues to be among the “first responders” to protect the nation’s and the world’s health.

Plenary Session III: Chronic Inflammation

Friday, September 18, 2015

10:00 a.m. –12:00 p.m.

Masur Auditorium, Building 10

Most of the NIH institutes and centers are involved in studies for which chronic inflammation is a common denominator. Allergies, asthma, heart and circulatory disease, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, some cancers, multiple sclerosis, and possibly Alzheimer’s. These are just a few debilitating diseases that can originate partly or entirely from the immune system’s aggressive response to perceived harmful stimuli. Aging itself has been described as the totality of a lifetime of chronic inflammation. Better understanding the causes and control of chronic inflammation thus can lead to profound improvements in human health and healthy longevity. With its deep trove of immunologists, rheumatologists, and cancer biologists, the NIH IRP can make major contributions to the characterization and control of inflammatory processes.